“Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise
the Lord: This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter. I will
praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone
which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the
Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath
made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O
Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name
of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. God is the Lord,
which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns
of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will
exalt thee. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth
for ever.” Psalm 118:19-29

In the month of November, we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. In many
homes, it is a tradition for each family member to mention one thing for which
they are thankful. The Holy Scriptures teach us that we are to live our lives in
gratitude for all that God has done for us. In His first letter to the
Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul tells us “In every thing give thanks: for this
is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I Thessalonians 5:18 This
means that we are to be thankful in good times and in bad. Remarkably, when
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863, he did
so while the nation was still in the throes of the Civil War. Lincoln encouraged
the nation to give thanks, even though the nation’s future was still uncertain.

Because we are sinners, it is difficult for us to be thankful, especially during
times of trouble. Even a Presidential proclamation cannot force us to be truly
grateful. However, when God calls us to be thankful, He does so by revealing His
great love for us in the Gospel. It is that revelation that kindles faith in our
hearts and moves us to thankfulness and praise. In Psalm 118, we hear a phrase
that is heard over and over again in the Old Teastament; “O give thanks to the
Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever.” We give thanks to God,
because He is good and because He is merciful to sinners.

In that same Psalm, the writer expresses how God has shown us His mercy. “I will
praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone
which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” We praise
God, because He has heard our cries for help and has given us salvation in His
Son, Jesus Christ. Even though mankind rejected Him, Jesus suffered, bled and
died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. It is the death and
Resurrection of Jesus Christ that is our hope, our cornerstone and the
foundation of our faith. The hymn-writer says it so well, “When all around my
soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.” So “Give thanks to the Lord;
for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever!” Yours in Christ, Pastor Chuck
Bylkas

YOU ARE INVITED to…. Winter Night of Music
at Zion Lutheran Church in Hancock, MI, to benefit the seminary on Tuesday,
November 27 at 7PM. Join us for an evening of Christmas caroling and special
music. Refreshments will be served.

ATTENTION: SUPPORTERS
THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT THE SEMINARY.

Have you ever have used Amazon.com to do your shopping? Now AmazonSmile offers
the same products, same prices and same service and will also donate 0.5% of the
price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Inter-Lutheran Theological
Seminary whenever you shop on AmazonSmile.

Simply log use in by using this link….
http://smile.amazon.com/ch/41-0918317
which will bring you directly to smile.amazon.com in support of our
organization.

The Thrivent Choice® program offers a way members can recommend where Thrivent
Financial distributes some of its charitable outreach funds. As a benefit
member, your ownership of Thrivent Financial products and services help make
this support possible.

Remember….If you are an eligible member 16 and older you can recommend how to
distribute Thrivent Financial charitable grant funds thought Choice Dollars®.
Member eligibility and the Choice Dollars designated are based on:
• Holding a Thrivent Financial volunteer leadership position; or
• Having $750 or more in annual premiums of qualifying
insurance products; or
• Having $20,000 or more in contract value of qualifying products.
For more information about Choice Dollars, visit http://www.Thrivent.com/thriventchoice
or call 800-847-4836 or contact your local Thrivent Financial representative.

INFAITH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION:

Several years ago, the Seminary board of directors established the
Inter-Lutheran Seminary Endowment Fund. Funds contributed to the endowment are
not used for current day to day operations. Only the annual earnings of the
endowment will be used for the seminary’s needs thereby ensuring the continued
existence of this funding source. This is the preferred method used by many
non-profit entities, especially ongoing religiously focused organizations such
as seminaries.

While this is an excellent strategy, it has proven a challenge for us to
actually meet the minimum funding requirements. Until now, the fund has existed
but remained unfunded. By the Lord’s grace we have been blessed with a large
contribution to fund the Inter-Lutheran Seminary Endowment Fund. We would love
to build on this generous contribution to grow our endowment into a major source
of ongoing seminary support.

Although the seminary still needs the financial ongoing regular contributions of
our supporters, please consider the endowment fund for your planned giving
needs. The seminary has chosen the InFaith Community Endowment Fund (the renamed
Lutheran Brotherhood Foundation) to administer our endowment fund. They will
provide experienced legal advice to help guide you with any contribution
questions done through estate planning in addition to lump sum contributions,
IRAs, property and securities. For more additional information, please contact
Kirk Otto, Jr. at (715) 294-4343 or Cheryl Hendrickson at (906)482-3337.

**PLEASE NOTE**

If you are receiving this newsletter in error or would prefer to be taken off
the mailing list, please complete the form below and mail to: P.O. Box 449,
Hancock, MI 49930.
Or call 906-482-3337 or email: cilseminary@ilseminary.com. Thank you!